by Thief » Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:01 am
December 15th 1986
As soon as I awoke, I went to the dojo in order to find Fuku-san. I figured if anyone knew of the mirror’s whereabouts, it must be him. But as I entered the dojo, Fuku-san was nowhere to be found. He normally practices early in the morning, so I was a bit surprised to find him absent from his training, but as I went back to the house to find him, Ine-san told me to speak to Fuku-san. Apparently Fuku-san had also been looking for me. I must have just missed him. I found him at the cherry tree.
Fuku-san had a confession to make. He told me that he admitted to Ine-san of all the things that I had been doing. The efforts that I have been making in order to find Lan Di and avenge the death of my father. Upon hearing this, I thought I would have been angry, but I can understand Fuku-san’s concern and his motivation to tell. We have never really been deceitful to one another, and not to Ine-san—and not to my father. Yet I have been very deceitful lately. I have been so concerned with my goal that I failed to act appropriately towards my friends. Yet, even though I have failed in this way, I still believe my actions were justified. If failing in this way could lead to another greater success, then I must continue to fail in order to reach that success. Although, I’m no longer convinced that these failures have lead me any closer to my goal. Either way, I do not blame Fuku-san for succeeding in truth. But regardless, Fuku-san had no idea where the mirror could be located.
Ine-san approached me shortly thereafter. She had been eaves-dropping, to which she apologized greatly, despite Fuku-san being quite loud in his confession. I felt as though I had to apologize to Ine-san, for keeping so many things from her, but it was her who seemed distressed over her own actions. She told me that she believed she was letting my father down. She told me that she didn’t have the right to stop the son of Iwao Hazuki—that she couldn’t stop him… me. She blamed herself, which greatly saddened me. It wasn’t her fault, none of this was, but I didn’t correct her. I let her act as she felt she should. It wasn’t my place to let her know how she should feel, it wasn’t up to me to interpret the consequences of her actions. In the end, however, Ine-san felt the need to inform me of an item my father had left at an antique shop. This item was supposedly of great importance, although Ine-san was unaware of what it could be. It was a long shot, but part of me believed that it might be the mirror. And so I headed to the antique shop.
Near the kitten, on my way to the antique shop, I ran into Nozomi. Thankfully the kitten seems to be much better. She’s playing outside of the box and her leg seems to be healed, but Nozomi is still worried about me. I have nothing that I can tell her and… when I tell her nothing is wrong, she gets frustrated with me. She wants me to open up, but I can’t open up. It would only worry her more. For now I’ll just have to deal with Nozomi being frustrated with me. It’s better than making her upset. It was only after Nozomi left that I realized that I was still being untruthful with my friends. Would it be better to open up with Nozomi? I’m still unsure.
Oishi-san had indeed been holding something for my father. It was a sword-handguard, one that had been passed down from generation to generation. The handguard bore the Hazuki family crest: a snow ring, the two stars, and a sword. It is only given to the Hazuki heir once he turns eighteen. I wonder if my father would have given it to me that day, had Lan Di not shown up when he did. Oishi-san did not have the mirror for me, but I was excited nonetheless to have the handguard. Surprisingly, I believed to know its purpose. Ever since I was a young boy, I’d poked and prodded my way around the dojo. One thing puzzled me ever since I was a child. Behind two scrolls in the dojo there exists two small recesses: one shaped to fit the blade of a sword and the other shaped to fit, I believe, this handguard. When I was attempting to sneak into warehouse #8, I spent a lot of time at home during the day. During that time I noticed that the key I snagged from my father’s desk fit nicely into a long locked box in the dojo. Inside that box was a sword… and much how I immediately recognized the importance of the sword handguard, I immediately knew to fit the box’s sword into the blade-shaped crevice. It fit nicely, yet nothing happened. However, I’m certain that with the second piece of the puzzle in hand, I’ll finally solve this mystery! I’ve been wanting to know this secret for so long! I hurried home but on my way back I ran into Gui Zhang.
Gui Zhang and I fought in Yamanose. I suppose this sounds a bit strange, but he had been following me. And for a moment there, I thought he had been working with Lan Di. I guess I’m a little bit on edge. It turns out that Master Chen sent his son to look after me. Gui Zhang is supposed to act sort of like a bodyguard… as if I need one. But I’m not stupid enough to dismiss his help. I could tell from our fight that he is very well trained and he fights with purpose. He seems really worked up about Lan Di getting his hands on the Phoenix Mirror and he will do all he can to assist me in locating the mirror. He claims that nobody will be able to stop Lan Di if he manages to obtain the mirror. Just how important are these mirrors?
When I got home I went straight for the dojo and fit the handguard into the crevice. It was a success! The handguard and the sword were a key that led to a secret basement beneath the dojo! It was dark down there, so I grabbed the flashlight from underneath the phone and went straight down into the basement. The basement had various amounts of junk. Some old medicine, books and scrolls, and various Chinese things. The strangest of all was a white leaf that wasn’t even dry. How could such an old leaf not be dry? That’s not all though. I found a photograph of my father when he was young. He looked like he was much the same age as I am now. It really made me realize that I didn’t know much about my father when he was younger. In the photo he was standing next to a man, but I had no idea who he was, nor did I know where the photo had been taken. I knew him as a father, but I didn’t know him as Iwao Hazuki. Who was my father before he was my father? Could he really have killed a man? It doesn’t seem possible. Well, I guess it’s time that I mention that I found the mirror. It was hidden behind a wall that was hidden behind a shelf. It’s strange, but I suppose I expected a little more. The mirror itself would be rather plain, except it has a beautiful engraving of a phoenix on its face. But I fail to see its importance. It seems like a regular antique mirror. How can such a thing be so important? Why did my father go to such lengths to hide it and why does Lan Di want it? If the mirror can help me locate Lan Di, then I am grateful for it, but none of this makes any sense. I’ll have to speak with Master Chen tomorrow.
Thief has received 2 thanks from: Switch, VukBZ2005